lightweight inner tubes

bianchimoon

Just opinions please, we spend a fair bit to get lighter wheels, then maybe worry less about lightweight tubes or tyres. What is generally accepted as the best option for inner tubes. Would it be noticeable to average experienced rider, worth considering or not?

ugo.santalucia

Latex tubes are the best.
Worth the extra money in my view

pastey_boy

These are very good tubes for not a lot of money, also weigh less than stated, 73-75 grams each and they hold air well.
http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/TUV ... inner_tube

bianchimoon

thanks just looking at Michelin A1 AirComp Ultralight Tube - 700c 700 x 18-23c never used latex tubes just tended to go cheapest, but £5.99 per lightweight tube from CRC seems reasonable compared to my platinum price from wiggle of £7.99 each!!

bianchimoon

pastey_boy wrote:

These are very good tubes for not a lot of money, also weigh less than stated, 73-75 grams each and they hold air well.
http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/TUV ... inner_tube

that seems like a bargain, depending on postage costs!

pastey_boy

bianchimoon wrote:

pastey_boy wrote:

These are very good tubes for not a lot of money, also weigh less than stated, 73-75 grams each and they hold air well.
http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/TUV ... inner_tube

that seems like a bargain, depending on postage costs!

Order 9 and its free postage, cant hurt to have spares.

JackPozzi

Out of interest, can anyone recommend a latex tube with either a stem longer than 60mm or with a removable core? Have used Michelina on my cosmics but it's not easy getting a track pump on

simon_masterson

I haven't tried latex tubes, but the general feeling about them seems to be that they have a different ride quality, and some people think that they are more resistant to puncturing.

The weight factor however I don't buy. I just went and weighed my spare tube (common-or-garden butyl, big enough for a 32mm tyre) and it came in at 135g. I really have a hard time believing that 60g is going to make an appreciable difference to most people, let alone the fact that my tube will be a little bit heavier than the same brand in 700x23.

bianchimoon

out of interest i grabbed one of my standard spares lying around and it weighed in at 85g, not sure a 15g will help me at all

bianchimoon

although have seen some a 40g each.. must be paper thin and a different valve system methinks

ugo.santalucia

Simon Masterson wrote:

I haven't tried latex tubes, but the general feeling about them seems to be that they have a different ride quality, and some people think that they are more resistant to puncturing.

The weight factor however I don't buy. I just went and weighed my spare tube (common-or-garden butyl, big enough for a 32mm tyre) and it came in at 135g. I really have a hard time believing that 60g is going to make an appreciable difference to most people, let alone the fact that my tube will be a little bit heavier than the same brand in 700x23.

It is the cheapest way to save 60 grams of rotating weight... rotating weight, depending how far it is fronm the hub, is multiplied by a factor... roughly speaking 60 grams on the tyre could be comparable to shedding a Kg somewhere else

marcusjb

Slight tangent - I would like to try lighter tubes (rotational weight and all that). Now, here's the thing, I ride 28mm Conti 4-Seasons. Before anyone says anything, I could save more weight by using something 23mm wide - I know this - but the tyres are very comfy (and when you're riding 200+ miles a day, comfort becomes quite a big deal trust me). So changing tyres not open for negotiation at the moment.

I rarely p***ture (I weigh only 60kgs and seem to avoid the sharp bits when everyone else is getting flats around me), so not worried about a slightly increased risk of getting a flat. The slightly reduced weight and the fabled better ride quality attract me to latex tubes.

So, latex tubes seemingly only available for 23mm tyres (as these will be the target market). Does anyone know if someones makes a latex tube that will work on a 28mm tyre????

smoggysteve

Pump them up with helium.

pastey_boy

In my experience latex tubes dont hold air very well and can perish. Also some of the lighter butyl tubes can be troublesome, I purchased a couple of 60 gram Controltech tubes and one ejected its entire valve stem when the bike was hanging on the wall and the other split along its seam. Maxxis flyweights and Conti supersonics weigh around the 50 gram mark and seem quite reliable but are expensive although saving 25-30 grams elwhere on an already light bike can cost quite a lot more.

simon_masterson

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

I haven't tried latex tubes, but the general feeling about them seems to be that they have a different ride quality, and some people think that they are more resistant to puncturing.

The weight factor however I don't buy. I just went and weighed my spare tube (common-or-garden butyl, big enough for a 32mm tyre) and it came in at 135g. I really have a hard time believing that 60g is going to make an appreciable difference to most people, let alone the fact that my tube will be a little bit heavier than the same brand in 700x23.

It is the cheapest way to save 60 grams of rotating weight... rotating weight, depending how far it is fronm the hub, is multiplied by a factor... roughly speaking 60 grams on the tyre could be comparable to shedding a Kg somewhere else

Interesting point. I'd be interested to know how much difference rotating mass makes to power output at a given speed; I'm guessing it's been done...

pastey_boy

marcusjb wrote:

Slight tangent - I would like to try lighter tubes (rotational weight and all that). Now, here's the thing, I ride 28mm Conti 4-Seasons. Before anyone says anything, I could save more weight by using something 23mm wide - I know this - but the tyres are very comfy (and when you're riding 200+ miles a day, comfort becomes quite a big deal trust me). So changing tyres not open for negotiation at the moment.

I rarely p***ture (I weigh only 60kgs and seem to avoid the sharp bits when everyone else is getting flats around me), so not worried about a slightly increased risk of getting a flat. The slightly reduced weight and the fabled better ride quality attract me to latex tubes.

So, latex tubes seemingly only available for 23mm tyres (as these will be the target market). Does anyone know if someones makes a latex tube that will work on a 28mm tyre????

I've used these in the 23mm format and they seem pretty good, although like latex they dont hold air as well as butyl tubes. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FOSS-700x28-3 ... 51a7720709

ugo.santalucia

Simon Masterson wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

I haven't tried latex tubes, but the general feeling about them seems to be that they have a different ride quality, and some people think that they are more resistant to puncturing.

The weight factor however I don't buy. I just went and weighed my spare tube (common-or-garden butyl, big enough for a 32mm tyre) and it came in at 135g. I really have a hard time believing that 60g is going to make an appreciable difference to most people, let alone the fact that my tube will be a little bit heavier than the same brand in 700x23.

It is the cheapest way to save 60 grams of rotating weight... rotating weight, depending how far it is fronm the hub, is multiplied by a factor... roughly speaking 60 grams on the tyre could be comparable to shedding a Kg somewhere else

Interesting point. I'd be interested to know how much difference rotating mass makes to power output at a given speed; I'm guessing it's been done...

Keeping the speed constant on a flat probably none... you only experience rotating mass when you try to accelerate and the damn thing refuses to...
Light wheels really come handy on a very rolling terrain with plenty of turns... if you ride along the A3 from London to Portsmouth, you won't see much difference

Strith

And racing, light tubes, tires, rims, make a difference when you're trying to stay on a wheel.

ScreaminWargasm

I changed my tubes to Continental Supersonics last summer and managed to save around 65g per tube over the standard tubes. With a total rotational weight saving of 130g for about £16 I think it's a good way to save weight. People will often spend a lot more money trying to save weight like that elsewhere such as saddles, stems etc etc which won't make a huge difference because its not at the wheel.

I've had no issues at all with them since changing. You do have to keep the air topped up as it'll drop to around 80psi over a week but I did this with the old tubes anyway so isn't a problem.

Mick